Michigan students respond to public health emergencies

The Public Health Action Support Team (PHAST) is a program of the Office of Public Health Practice at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. PHAST formed in September 2005 with the goal of providing trained students to serve as extra hands at local/state health departments in Michigan during public health emergencies. Through meeting this goal, students are provided practical public health opportunities that enhance their educational experience.

Students are trained in a variety of topics before they are eligible to serve as surge capacity including: biological/chemical agents, questionnaire design/interviewing techniques, confidentiality, risk communication, epidemiology/surveillance, outbreak investigation, mental health and multicultural issues. These topics are presented by experts at a face-to-face training for students interested in participating in PHAST, annually. Supplemental online courses are also required of the students, including FEMA Independent Study courses and online courses from the Michigan Center for Public Health Preparedness.

Following the first in-person training of students in January 2006, a group of 40 students were quickly deployed to the Gulf Coast region in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. These students worked on 10 projects throughout Louisiana and Mississippi during their spring breaks. Twenty-eight students returned over the 2007 spring break to complete five projects, some of which built on work done in 2006. Surge capacity has also been provided in Michigan, with students working on a food borne outbreak investigation in a local health department along with assisting in the planning efforts of health departments through participating in exercises and drills.